President Obama last week began his second term by promising that “a decade of war is now ending.” As he spoke, the US military was rapidly working its way
into another war, this time in the impoverished African country of Mali. As far
as we know, the US is only providing transport and intelligence assistance to
France, which initiated the intervention then immediately called Washington for
back-up and funding. However, even if US involvement is limited, and, as Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta said, US boots on the ground are not being considered
“at this time,” this clearly is developing into another war. As usual, the
mission is creeping.

Within the first week of French military action in Mali, the promise that it
would be a quick operation to put down an Islamic rebel advance toward the
capitol was broken. France announced that it would be forced to send in
thousands of troops and would need to remain far longer than the few weeks it
initially claimed would be necessary.

Media questions as to whether the US has Special Operations forces, drones, or
CIA paramilitary units active in Mali are unanswered by the Administration.
Congress has asked few questions and demanded few answers from the president. As
usual, it was not even consulted. But where does the president get the authority
to become a co-combatant in French operations in Mali, even if US troops are not
yet overtly involved in the attack?

How did we get to Mali? Blowback and unintended consequences played key roles.
When the president decided to use the US military to attack Libya in 2011,
Congress was not consulted. The president claimed that UN and NATO authority for
the use of US military force were sufficient and even superior to any kind of
Congressional declaration. Congress once again relinquished its authority, but
also its oversight power, by remaining silent. That meant the difficult
questions such as why is the action necessary, what would it entail, and what
kind of unintended consequences might we see if the operation does not go
exactly as planned, were neither asked nor answered.

When Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, many fighters from Mali who had lived in
Libya and been trained by Gaddafi’s military returned to their home country
with sophisticated weapons and a new determination to continue their fight for
independence for northern Mali. Thus the France-initiated action against Libya
in 2011 led to new violence and instability in Mali that France decided it must
also address. Shortly after the French attack on Mali, rebels in Algeria
attacked a BP gas facility in retaliation for their government’s decision to
allow foreign military to fly over Algerian territory en route to Mali. Thus the
action in Mali to solve the crisis created by the prior action in Libya is
turning into a new crisis in Algeria. This is the danger of interventionism and,
as we saw in Vietnam more than four decades ago, it threatens to drag the US
further into the conflict. And Congress is AWOL.

There is a reason why the framers of our Constitution placed the authority to
declare war strictly with the Legislative Branch of government. They knew well
that kings were all too willing to go to war without the consent of those who
would do the killing and dying — and funding. By placing that authority in
Congress, the people’s branch of government, they intended to blunt the
executive branch’s enthusiasm toward overseas adventurism. The consequences of
this steady erosion of our system toward the unitary executive are dire.

Now that you are no longer in Congress, can we call you Opposition President Ron Paul?

trish

David Sirota attack Obama, the assassin. He writes:
{Four years into his presidency, Barack Obama’s political formula should be obvious. He gives fabulous speeches teeming with popular liberal ideas, often refuses to take the actions necessary to realize those ideas and then banks on most voters, activists, reporters and pundits never bothering to notice—or care about—his sleight of hand.}

The first black president is worse than George Bush. He is good at lying with the help of phony "progressives to be silent. Why don't you kick this baby killer out of office now. He is a dictator who relys on DRONE TO KILL INNOCIENT PEOPLE. He is a war criminal. The reason behind people's silence is Obama's blackness, because mainly "people of color" voted fro him. He reserves the right to kill Africans and people of color with the help of phony "progressives" who are his propaganda machine. 98 percent of "African-Amricans" voted for an assassin and a war monger. Shame

Dave

Absolutely agree with you.

Andy_osnard

He also throws out ridiculous change after change to keep the opponents stirred up, while plotting more serious mischief he never mentions. He is handled well by pros who control him. Don't think any of this is his idea, except spending the treasure on travels, parties and other nonsense.

Jeans

Sounds like another Vietnam to me. Sigh. I thought we studied history so we wouldn't repeat the same mistakes.

The problem is, there is massive unwillingness to face the truth. By now, Ron Paul should dispense with the "unintended" consequences. These "unintendeds" are product of carefull planning. How is it "unintended" to destroy Libya, knowing full well that Libya financed with its oil money many African development projects? And how "unintended" is it to have turmoil in the region? While Tuaregs worked for Libyan regime, and returned to claim their independence, the "islamists" that came from Libya wear Qatari uniforms given to those that fought the regime. And how "uninteded" it was to orchestrate a coup, clearly US sponsored in Bamoko? And how "unintended" is it to have now Tuaregs whipped by "islamists', while US trained regime from Bamoko, is killing both — including civilians on all sides. Just as it will be "unintended' to start building up Mali as NATO base, starting with a base of US drones. Puke.

Bianca

Empire strikes back. How easy it is to forget Ivory Coast? The former president — too cozy with Chinese development projects — had to go. Replaced by a French puppet. Now Mali is becoming imperial base, with the "president" trained and equipped in US, organized a coup in Mali just months short of presidential election. Just like the "president" of Rwanda he has been trained in US to provide military hub for the transformation of north and subsaharan Africa. Then, Tutsis, the supposedly exterminated people, proceeded to rearrange Congo, until France was kicked out. Now, the Empire has made peace with itself in Africa, so French, US and UK will proceed to destabilize and recolonize. But the obsession of Western elites with the global empire will bring ruin at home. And clarify thinking around the globe as to the benevolence of the West.

Obama is the absolute worst piece of pathological shit to have ever been elevated to the status of POTUS. The ultimate bonafide hypocrite. As warped and twisted as they come, with the ultimate 'Kaiser' complex This guy really get's off on killing people! SICK!

ksat

Thank you for your insight, Dr Paul. Seems to me that some of the comments posted thus far are way over the line. One could just as easily blame congress, as Dr Paul does (he should know), for being AWOL on the job and allowing ANY pres, not just Obama, to run roughshod over the constitution. However, those who think that Obama is worse than GWB need to get a grip. The problem is that both the US military-industrial complex AND its president have way too much power in the world. Unless and until the Empire gets knocked down few pegs by world events, things will only get worse.

thinkest

The need for an American President that understands the restraints and obligations of the post is what we need in a setting President. The same can be said about all members elected to governmental office.

Andy_osnard

Ron:
How else is the Fed going to make billions if we don't keep going to war? What are you? Anti-Semitic?